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Hey everyone! Need something to do while you’re stuck in quarantine? Read this story! It won’t make the world around you any better, but it’s something to help you pass the time!

Vinyard and Frukeld exchanged a questioning glance before looking back at Plex. “That was a very sudden change of heart,” the gnome said, his voice full of suspicion.

Frukeld held his hand up to stop any further comments from Vinyard. It appeared that the old dwarf was about to say something in Plex’s defense, but he began speaking first. “Maybe you were right about me being afraid,” Plex admitted. “Maybe I was so afraid of what the dragon could do to me that I didn’t stop to think about whether or not the dragon had any right to do those things in the first place.

“I only started playing football because my queen instructed me to,” the elf sighed. “She told me to do the best I could in order to make the elves look good, to move the elves forward. I know she meant that she wanted me to do well so that the elves could move up in the hierarchy set forth by Lavalandinarial, but, the more I think about it, the only way for the elves to move forward, to have a better life, is for the dragon to be gone. No elf will ever reach their full potential while living under the dragon’s rule.

“So, Vinyard, it wasn’t a ‘sudden change of heart’. It was a sudden realization that I wasn’t fulfilling the mission my queen gave me in the best way possible.”

“Well said,” the dwarf agreed. “That’s all we want. That’s what we’re fighting for. We want our lives to be ours. We want to be our own masters. We want the things that happen in our lives, for good or for ill, to be of our own making and not forced upon us by a bully.”

Vinyard nodded to Frukeld’s words. Plex thought the gnome was going to add to them, but instead told them, “I’ve got to get back to the arena before they notice I’m gone.”

“Go,” Frukeld ordered. “You know what you need to do?”

“I know,” Vinyard answered as he casually flipped his hand and walked out of the room.

Once he was gone, Frukeld chuckled. “The other races are too quick to dismiss the gnomes. They are far more formidable than we give them credit for.”

Plex thought of Coach Sprout and his gift of strategy. “I’m beginning to realize that.”

“Good. Having your eyes open is always the best way to see.” Plex rolled his eyes at the statement of the obvious. “But, like Vinyard, we have to get moving too. It’s not good to stay in one spot too long. It’s easier for the dragon and her magic users to track us if we linger.”

“I’ve cloaked us from her scrying magic for now,” the magic using dwarf stated, “but that won’t last. We need to get you to the meeting point.”

“The meeting point?” Plex asked.

“The spot where you’re going to meet up with Vinyard. Once he’s finished with the game, he’s going to sneak out of your facilities and meet up with you. From there, the two of you will move to your first stop.”

“And which team is that?”

“Your sister’s.”

Plex’s mind raced. He wanted to trust the dwarf but he couldn’t picture how starting with her team was the right call. If they had just won the game, they would be loath to do anything to jeapordize their current elevated position, among the teams, with the dragon. If they had just lost, they would be angry and afraid and very few good decisions are made while in such a state. They would be distrustful of him.

Plex knew if he were in that position he would think it was some sort of trap designed to test their loyalty. And, if it wasn’t a test, then they might try to use it as a bargaining chip. If they could turn over Plex and his cohorts to the dragon perhaps that would keep them from being eaten after the first round of games were over.

Plex opened his mouth to question this decision, to at least hear the logic behind it, but shook his head and said nothing. The dwarf had already started to move away and Plex needed to move quickly to stay with him.

What followed was a series of twists and turns through half-lit or completely dark passageways and back alleys that Plex, even with his heightened awareness and honed senses, would have been hardpressed to keep track off. He would never be able to find his way back to where they’d been. Not that it matter. He assumed that he would never have a need to return to that spot. If it was, as they said, that they needed to move often, they probably never reused the same meeting places again.

Giving up keeping track of his whereabouts as a lost cause, Plex went back to trying to puzzle out how he would approach his sister’s team, win or loss.

“I think you’ll find,” the dwarf stated, startling Plex out of his thoughts, “the team will be receptive to what you, what we, are offering regardless of the outcome of the game.”

“Were you reading my mind?”

The dwarf chuckled softly. “No. I do not possess the necessary skill in my craft to read minds. Nor would I ever do so without an invitation first. Minds are tricky places to go poking around in uninvited. Plus,” the dwarf added more as an aside, “I know of no magicians who could have cast such a complex spell while traversing the corridors we have walked.”

Plex snorted. It all made sense of course. It had just been uncanny that the dwarf had hit upon the very topic he had been dwelling on. “I hope you are right,” Plex replied a moment later, with a sigh.

“We spent long hours trying to decide where to start. In the end, while we all didn’t agree, the majority of us decided that if we could recruit you, your sister’s team was the best place to start. Of all the other angles you are probably trying to wrap your head around, it came down to the simplest one. She is your sister and can vouch for you.”

Before Plex could respond, Frukeld spun on his heel and walked away. “Wait here for Vinyard,” the dwarf called over his shoulder.

Plex found himself in a dark alley and ducked deeper into its shadows. He wasn’t sure how long he’d have to wait for the gnome, but he wasn’t about to do it out in the open. As time passed, he ran around in circles in his head about whether or not he was doing the right thing. His heart told him that trying to get rid of the dragon was the best thing to do, not only for the elves, but for all the races. His mind, on the other hand, was telling him that this course of action would likely lead to his death.

Then again, the dragon probably already wanted him dead, so what did he have to lose?

While his mind wandered, he paced back and forth. His eyes darted around, looking for any movement. Plex’s nerves were starting to creep up on him. Not only did he have to avoid the Honor Guard on the way to see Gilania’s team, but he had to try to convince a group of strangers to join him in a fight that might get them killed. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to convince his sister, let alone the rest of her teammates.

As he thought about what he was going to say, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Plex stopped his pacing and ducked down into the shadows. A lone figure was approaching from the other end of the alley. For the moment, all he saw was the figure’s outline. In the darkness, it was hard to make out any features on the person. The only thing he could say for sure was that it was someone of short stature. A moment later, it became clear that the person was a gnome.

Plex stepped out to greet Vinyard when an alarm began screaming in his head. It wasn’t until he had revealed himself to the gnome that he realized that Vinyard didn’t wear his hair the way that the shadowed gnome approaching him did. It wasn’t until he stepped out and got a better look at the figure that he saw the blood red colors of Lavalandinarial’s Honor Guard. It wasn’t until the figure yelled at him to stop moving that he grasped the scope of his mental error.

“Who are you?” the Honor Guard demanded. “And what are you doing in this alley?”

Plex opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He knew there was nothing he could say to talk his way out of this mess. His eyes scanned the area around him. The only thing close to him was a wooden crate with some refuse in it. Without thinking, Plex leapt forward, grabbed it, and launched it at the gnome’s head. That’s when it dawned on him that he just attacked one of the dragon’s Honor Guard.

Hey everyone. That dastardly thing known as “real life” has bombarded both Matt and I with its evil, preventing us from working on this story as much as we’d like to. We have, however, finished with this installment and are ready to share it with all of our wonderful readers. We hope you enjoy it!

—– —– —– —–

Plex followed the dwarf to the end of the alleyway. Another dwarf stepped out of the shadows. The new dwarf waggled his fingers in Plex’s direction and mumbled some words under his breath. After a moment of this, Plex’s skin began to give off a faint pinkish glow. Before he could ask what was happening, the glow disappeared.

“Follow us,” the two dwarves said in unison.

He wanted to stop and demand to know what had just happened, but he knew that it would do more harm than good at that point. Not only would it give the dwarves an excuse to leave him behind, but it also increased the chances of someone spotting them. If one of the Honor Guard saw him huddled in a dark alley with a couple of dwarves, it would probably be the death of all three of them. Reluctantly, he silently trod after them.

The duo of dwarves ducked into the cellar door of the house at the end of the alley. Once he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he was led to a wall on the opposite side of the cellar. The dwarf who had used magic before recited another spell. A section of the wall in front of them swung in, revealing a long, narrow hallway. Without thinking, Plex followed them past the doorway and further into the unknown. It wasn’t until he heard the wall close up behind him that he questioned whether it was smart to continue chasing after these dwarves.

After all, he thought to himself, it was entirely possible that these were members of Lavalandinarial’s Honor Guard that he was walking behind. There were certainly magic users who weren’t controlled by the dragon, but the majority of them, whether willingly or not, worked for her. This could all just be a trap, an easy way to make him disappear, and his anger at Lavalandinarial had made him walk right into it.

Had she counted on that? Had she set this all up knowing that he would be so blinded by rage that he’d walk straight into the obvious trap?

“Hurry up!”

It wasn’t until the dwarf gruffly barked at him that he realized that his steps had slowed while his thoughts were bouncing crazily in his mind. Plex quickened his pace. If this was a trap, he was already too far into it to go back now. He had to see this through, no matter how it played out. Besides, it was almost a certainty that the dragon was going to kill him. If this wasn’t a trap, it was the only chance he had at escaping death.

The hallway finally ended at another wall. While the wizard dwarf spoke more words of magic, Plex took the time to take in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed is that the hallway was perfectly lit. That wouldn’t normally be something that people would question, but he didn’t see any torches or magical lanterns. Somehow the hallway was perfectly lit for no apparent reason. It unnerved him, but he couldn’t figure out why.

A scraping sound announced the opening of the wall. The dwarf who had originally spoken to him stepped aside and motioned for Plex to enter the room. “Frukeld is waiting for you,” he said.

A flicker of a memory flew across Plex’s mind. He had heard that name somewhere before. He couldn’t immediately place it, though, and didn’t have time to dwell on it. The dwarves flanking the opening did not look to be in the mood to give him time to second guess his presence. He couldn’t blame them. If they were planning something against the dragon, they were risking as much trusting him as he was trusting them.

Stepping through the opening in the wall, Plex was once again put off guard by the perfect light that seemed to come from nowhere. It had to be an enchantment but, if so, it was one he had never encountered before. This Frukeld, or those who worked for him, had unlocked sorcery that the greatest elves had not.

“Thank you for coming.”

The greeting was spoken by a very old dwarf. Not only did Frukeld’s beard touch the floor, even though it was tucked into the belt circling his wide belly, but the dwarf’s elongated eyebrows came close to doing the same. Wrinkles rolled through the few empty spaces where his face wasn’t covered in hair. And white tufts sprang from his ears. Plex was sure he had never been in the presence of someone older. He bowed low, for that alone, in a show of respect.

As he stood back up, Plex asked, “Why am I here?”

“Better with us than in the beast’s belly.”

The comment was made seriously but mischief sparkled behind the dwarf’s eyes and that set Plex at ease. He was among friends even if he wasn’t sure why he was there.

Chuckling briefly, Plex replied, “Any place is better than that monster’s gut. So that isn’t saying much. Yet, I feel like you think I can help you out with something and that will somehow help me out of the predicament my anger put me in.”

“Yes, exactly,” Frukeld said. “Exactly.”

“So what can I do for you?”

Frukeld smiled and his wrinkles thinned out, making the dwarf suddenly seem much younger. “We were you today. You are a leader. That alone made us take notice of you but then you showed that you didn’t appreciate Lavalandinarial interfering in the game and, most interesting of all, you were able to fight off her magic.”

“And if I ever dare to stand up to her again, we both know what will happen.”

Laughing, his beard and wrinkles bouncing wildly, Frukeld said, “We aren’t asking you to take up a lance and charge straight at her. No, that would truly be a waste. But we do need help organizing those of us who might be willing to do just that, or a version of charging at her that would be more successful.

“Your natural charisma and your leadership qualities will serve us well in that regard. Your defiance will inspire many who were already on the fence about the beast and that inspiration will lead towards loyalty.”

“I’m not a fighter,” Plex interjected.

“We aren’t asking you to be one. Though, in truth, I suspect you are one whether you think you are or not.”

Plex wasn’t sure whether or not to take that as a compliment. In his experience, nothing good had ever come from fighting. Every battle, every fight, he’d been in, or seen, had done nothing more than lead to unnecessary bloodshed and death. There was no good reason for it, and the gain never came close to being worth the cost.

Then again, every fight he’d been close to had been either at the dragon’s command, or because the contestants wanted to move up in the dragon’s hierarchy. Perhaps being a fighter against the dragon would be a good thing.

“I’ve been in my share of fights,” Plex admitted, “but I’m no warrior. I’m no great strategist, either. Not on the battlefield, anyway. The only time I excel in that type of thinking is on the football field.”

“A battlefield and a football field are more similar than most people think. That’s a discussion for another time, though. As I said before, we’re not asking you to be a fighter. Not yet, at least. We’re not asking you to lead our troupe into battle either. Right now, what we’re asking of you is to be our recruiter.”

“Your recruiter?”

“We have a number of magic users among us. We don’t have the magical firepower to take on the dragon yet, but we hope to soon. What we don’t have, are many able warriors. That’s because most of the best warriors of each race are on one of the football teams. We think this is done purposefully, to keep them occupied so that they don’t rise up against Lavalandinarial.”

“I don’t think so. After watching them, I think it’s just because they’re the best players..”

“Perhaps. Or it could be a combination of the two. Regardless, while having magic users is crucial to taking down the dragon, so is having capable fighters on our side. We’d like to get close to them, to try to sway them to our cause, but we can’t get close enough to them. Lavalandinarial has increased the security, both physical and magical, around the sites that house the football teams. If we tried to infiltrate those sites, all we’d probably accomplish is announcing our presence to the dragon. You, on the other hand, can get close to them.”

Plex laughed. “I can get close to my own team, but there’s no way I’d get close to any of the other teams. They’d never let an opposing player in their facilities. They’d be too worried about me seeing their plays and formations. It’d be impossible for a player to get into another team’s facilities.”

“No, it’s not.”

Plex jumped. It wasn’t Frukeld who had said that. His eyes darted back and forth, searching for the source of the new voice. It was familiar to him. He knew he’d heard it before, but he couldn’t place it.

From behind the old dwarf, a figure stepped out. Now, Plex knew why the voice sounded familiar. It belonged to someone he recognized. He briefly wondered how he hadn’t seen him before, but he’d been victim to this person’s sneaky tactics before.

Hey, everyone. I’m a little bit later in getting to this story than I wanted to be, but between the new job and being sick, I just didn’t have the time or energy to do any writing on it for a few days. But, I got back to it and we have a new part for you to read on this here Christmas Eve. Hopefully, you enjoy this little present, because it’s all I can get for you all. And, no matter which, if any, holidays you celebrate, I sincerely hope that enjoy them.

***** ***** *****

“Go in!”

Plex didn’t have to look around to know the source of the voice was Coach Sprout. Before he could ask what the gnome was talking about, he felt the little man’s hand on his back trying to push him onto the field. “Go in and block that extra point,” Sprout implored.

He slowly started walking out onto the field, seeing that their coach had also been shoving on Glavven’s backside too. Plex’s eyes flicked up towards the dragon. It had raised up to full height and was watching the duo walk off the sideline with a mixture of anger and amusement. The duo quickened their pace to get into position before the ball was hiked.

It was quick thinking on the gnome’s part, Plex knew, that had prevented Glavven from being inside Lavalandinarial’s mouth right now. Had they remained on the sideline, the dragon would’ve come down and picked the minotaur up and swallowed him whole. By sending them out onto the field, Sprout had, at the very least, delayed it. While it was true that the dragon could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, it was much less likely that she would act openly while there was action out on the field. It was obvious that she wanted to have a hand in the outcome of the games, but it was also obvious that she didn’t want it to be known that she did. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so subtle in her magic.

The duo was still running up to the line of scrimmage when the ball was hiked. Plex stopped, thinking that they were too late to even make an attempt to block it. Glavven didn’t stop, though. The furious minotaur bellowed out a roar of rage and charged the line. He watched as the minotaur blew through the entire line, pushing away teammates and the opposition alike on his way toward the kick. It was an impressive display of power, made even more impressive because Glavven was doing it with an injured knee.
Boot hit ball and the kick went streaming at the uprights. Glavven planted on his good leg, let out another bellow, and jumped with all of his might. Plex found himself holding his breath through the display, but that changed when he gasped in shock. Glavven had done it. The tips of his outstretched left hand grazed the ball. It wasn’t enough to block the ball completely, but it did change the ball’s trajectory.

The entire stadium watched as the ball veered wildly to the right. By the time it got to the end zone, it was almost twenty yards wide of the uprights. The kick was no good.

All around him, his teammates jumped up and down in celebration. Plex wanted to join them, but he instead looked up at the dragon. All traces of anger were gone. It was smiling that cocky, superior smile. He dropped his head and started to shake it. This should’ve been a moment of celebration, but he couldn’t. He knew what was coming next.

With the blocked kick, the score was now forty-two to thirty-nine, a three point difference. If the other team recovered their soon to be attempted onside kick, they couldn’t win the game with a field goal. They could tie it, though, and he knew that was the dragon’s plan. Lavalandinarial was going to find a way to make the game go into overtime.

Plex turned around jogged back to the touchline. “Coach, leave me for the return. In fact, put in all of our players with the best hands. We need to make sure whoever the ball hits they can grab it and hold onto it.”

The gnome studied his quarterback and nodded once and began issuing instructions. The line that got sent out was nothing like the normal kick return unit. The special teams coach put up some fuss that his guys should be trusted with the task but Sprout quickly silenced that outburst with a look where his eyes first trained on the special teams coach and then flicked towards the dragon.

This kicking team lined up and for the first time ever, because this hadn’t even been a scenario in any of the practices, Plex found himself on the field facing the entire kicking line. Without his own row of offensive linemen protecting him, Plex was surprised how scary it was staring into the eyes of minotaurs, orcs, goblins and dwarves. They would be coming full force and the ball would be bouncing around chaotically.

Plex was near the center of the field so it was unlikely the ball would come to him. Looking left and right he saw looks of determination in all of his teammates. They knew what was coming and what was expected of them. To a man, they were set on making sure they did not let their team down.

The whistle blew and the kicker did a short run up before side footing the ball. It smashed into the ground at his feet and began to bounce and spin wildly. Plex watched it, like he would have from the sideline, until the movement of his teammates reminded him that he needed to act.
The field became a blur as everyone rushed for the ball. As fast as he was, Plex didn’t think he’d get there first but he was certainly going to try. The kicking line came in at crushing speeds. The teams on the sidelines were shouting. The spectators were on their feet yelling. And Lavalandinarial had once again lifted her head up to gaze intently upon the action. Plex saw all of this and none of it at the same time.

His pace outstripped most of his teammates. The ball, nearly within reach, still danced and spun and then it disappeared under a dwarf from his team and a minotaur from the kicking team. Without thinking about it, Plex threw himself on top of the minotaur, his eyes darting around looking for the ball, ready to grab it should it pop free.

And then someone else smashed into his back. And then more weight was added. And then more until it felt like everyone from both teams was piled on top of him. It burned to breath. His senses were assaulted by the smells and feel of so many players. He pushed as much of it aside as he could and scrambled to keep his arms free and ready to haul in the ball should he see it. All around him, arms writhed intent upon the same.

Then a series of short whistle blasts pierced through the pile and slowly, the weight was removed one player at a time while the Honor Guard worked on trying to figure out who had ended up with possession of the ball.
Sitting in the middle of this massive pile of people was starting to make him a little claustrophobic. Sure, there were some big piles on offensive plays, but nothing like having almost two full teams of players on top of him. It was almost enough to make him panic, but he controlled his anxiety and breathed in as deeply as he could, slowly and calmly. Plex kept reminding himself that this was just a part of the game and it would be over soon.

Eventually, the last bit of weight lifted off of him and he was able to stand up. His whole body ached, though whether that was from just the pile or the whole game he wasn’t sure. Thoughts of pain were pushed to the side momentarily as he looked at the remaining two players on the pile. Only the dwarf and minotaur remained. Plex peered intently as the Honor Guard surrounded the pair, blocking the majority of his view. One of the Honor Guard that were on the opposite side of the pile from him, a fellow elf, glanced up at Lavalandinarial. Plex followed his gaze and turned his head in time to see the dragon’s eyes flick over the sideline of Gilania’s team.

When Plex looked back at the pile, he saw one of the Honor Guard pull the ball from the dwarf and punch him in the stomach. As the dwarf doubled over, the elf bent with him, whispering harshly in the dwarf’s ear. No doubt, they were threatening him to keep quiet about what really happened on the bottom of the pile. Nodding his head vigorously, the dwarf appeared stunned when he was punched in the stomach again after the elf helped him up.

With a wave of his hand, the Honor Guard called the healer over from Plex’s sideline. Anger was building from within him and it took all he had to keep himself quiet. This was becoming ridiculous. If he wasn’t so sure that the dragon would eat him if he tried to do it, he would’ve walked off the field and quit right then and there. Football was pure. It was a game of skill, athletic ability. It was a game of strategy that was dependent on how well you blended all of that together.

What it certainly wasn’t, and should never be, was scripted.

The outcome of a game should never be determined by anyone other than the players on the field. Even if that someone else was the most powerful being in the world.

I’ve had a lot going on the past couple of days, so I’m a little late on sharing this, but here’s the latest chapter of the blog hopping story being written by the incredibly talented Matticus and the somewhat talented me. Hope you’re all enjoying the ride so far.

I had this whole funny into typed out. I swear I did. Why would I lie? Why are you questioning me…?

Anyway, for reasons related to shenanigans that intro was lost. Let’s have a minute of silence in its honor.

…

Okay. On with the football!

….

The running back raced down the field. Plex was certain he was going to score but then Kalant, who Plex hadn’t even realized was on the field, streaked across the field and smashed into the running back. The two players crashed to the turf. For a moment it looked like the ball was going to pop loose but the runner managed to hang onto it. Still, the other team had made it down to the ten yard line, had a new set of downs, and with two full minutes left in the game, along with both teams having most of their timeouts left…

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day. I also hope you enjoy the latest chapter of the blog hopping story written by Matticus and myself.

***** ***** *****

Coach Sprout called the rest of the offense over and told them the play that they were going to run. This time around, they’d have both of their running backs on the field at the same time. It was just one more little thing that Sprout was doing to try to confuse the defense. They’d have to prepare for the possibility of either of them getting the ball, and that’s even if it was a running play to begin with.
The Honor Guard blew their whistles, indicating that the timeout was over. Plex led his team out onto the field and quickly got them lined up. He wanted to hike the ball as soon as possible so the defenders didn’t get much of a chance to react to how they had set up their formation. Another whistle blew and time began to count down once more towards the end of the game. Plex took just a moment to look over the defense before calling for the ball to be hiked.

On his right, Glavven ran forward and held his hands up to receive the football. Plex didn’t give it to him. Instead, he handed it to Meel, who was following behind. Glavven ran into a pair of defenders as if he had the ball. That took them both out of the play and left an opening for the smaller Meel to get through. Meel ducked under one defensive lineman’s arm as he ran untouched into the hole.

There was a lot of open field in front of him. In fact, the only defender standing between Meel and the goal line was Gilania. For what seemed like the hundredth time during the game, Plex found himself torn. He was torn between his desire to see his sister do well and his need for his team to win. Plex knew his team needed these points to put the game almost completely out of reach.

He just hoped it didn’t come at his sister’s expense.

Meel cut left for a step and quickly cut back right with the next, hoping to juke his way past her. Gilania didn’t fall for it. She stayed in position between him and the end zone. With only a few yards left until he reached her, Meel lowered his shoulder. There weren’t many people that Meel would be able to run over, but with the momentum that he had, Gilania might be one of them. She braced for the impact.

The two of them hit in a collision that could be heard throughout the entire arena. Gilania started falling backwards, but she had her arms wrapped tightly around Meel. She was pulling him down with her. His momentum was still carrying him toward the goal line. There was a chance he would cross it before he hit the ground. It would be close.

Two more steps put them at the five yard line. Meel was going down quickly. He wrestled the ball out from between them and reached it out towards the goal line. He gave one last heave with his legs and fell forward.
Plex’s view was obscured by the crash of players who had finally caught up to the play, jumping on top of Meel and Gilania either in attempt to keep the player from crossing the line or trying to help him in his effort. The whole mess crunched together in a writhing pile of arms and legs.

Whistles blew. The honor guard rushed forward to help untangle players and try to determine where the ball ended up. Plex moved forward a few yards hoping to get glimpse of how Meel and Gilania had done. Had Meel gotten the ball across the line? Had Gilania stopped him? Had she been hurt at the bottom of the pile?

The process of getting to the bottom seemed to take much longer than it should. There seemed to be a struggle going on still. Plex saw that Meel still had a hold of the ball, and it looked like it was on the line so it should be a touchdown but Gilania had somehow gotten one of her hands on the ball too and was trying to push it backwards. From his angle Plex couldn’t be sure what the referees were going to decide. He didn’t want to get any closer though.

A moment later it was just down to Meel and Gilania. One of the honor guard pulled the ball free while Meel and Gilania came up pushing and shoving. Plex couldn’t hear what was being said clearly but was close enough to know that words were being exchanged.

Another series of whistles and one of the honor guard stepped between the two players. The guard flicked his head towards the dragon and Meel and Gilania immediately settled down. Only then did Plex realize he’d been clenching his fists and he forced his hands to relax, though his heart still raced.

With the playes all separated, the honor guard got together for a moment and then they placed the football on the goal line and signaled a touchdown. While Meel celebrated with his teammates, Gilania uttered curses in elven, just loud enough for Plex and some of the players around her to hear. Her own teammates escorted her off the field before she got into trouble.

Plex shook his head. What was she thinking? But the answer was obvious. Plex glanced first at the game clock and then at Lavalandinarial. The dragon seemed bored. A small tendril of smoke drifted up from one nostril. Its mouth was closed in neither a smile or a snarl and its eyelids were half closed. Was the beast losing interest in the game?
As they made their way to the sideline, Plex congratulated Meel on the touchdown and Glavven for creating the hole. Glavven was worse for the wear. The play had caused his injury to flare up and the healer was working with him again.

“You okay?”

Glavven nodded that he was but said nothing in response. The minotaur’s jaws were clenched tightly. His teammate was too proud to answer for fear the pain he was in would be obvious in his voice.

Plex moved away and scanned the far sideline for his sister. Gilania was being talked to by her coach. She seemed upset and it hurt Plex to see her that way. There was nothing he could do to help, though.

A few seconds later and the point after attempt was converted. Gilania’s team was far behind now, exactly what Plex hadn’t wanted, and the two minute warning was less than a minute away. Plex could only hope that Gilania’s team was able to move down the field and cut into the lead. He just hoped that they would do it as time expired so there would be no chance for a miracle play. Then again, with how sporadic the dragon was, maybe that was her plan all along. Maybe she wanted the game to appear out of reach before she helped the losing team come back.

Plex looked up at the dragon. Lavalandinarial was staring right back at him, mimicking Coach Sprout’s knowing smile. Had she been able to read his mind? Did she know what he had been thinking? She had to. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to look at him like that.

He tore his eyes away from Lavalandinarial and looked at the scoreboard. What he saw didn’t make sense. The score was forty-two to thirty-three, a nine point difference. A few moments ago, that seemed like an insurmountable lead. Plex knew that it wasn’t. Three minutes was more than enough time for Gilania’s team to easily drive the ball down the field, score a touchdown, kick the extra point, attempt and recover an onside kick, and get into a position to kick the winning field goal.

Walking up to Coach Sprout, he asked, “Why did we kick the extra point instead of going for two there?”

The gnome’s expression made it clear that he thought Plex’s question was dumb. Coach Sprout pointed to the scoreboard and was about to say something when his eyes followed his finger. Sprout’s jaw dropped. “I don’t know,” the gnome finally said. Confusion washed over his face. “I would have sworn we were winning by more than that.”

Plex was careful to keep the curses he wanted to yell out of his thoughts. The dragon could obviously read his mind and he didn’t want to give her any reason to hurt him again. Not that she needed a reason. Still, it was best to be as cautious as possible when it came to Lavalandinarial.

He watched helplessly as the game went on. His team did a good job covering the kickoff. They held Gilania’s team to a three yard gain on first down and an incompletion on second. With it being third and seven, with only seconds to go until the two minute warning, everyone in the stadium thought that it was going to be a passing play.

That’s why it worked so well when the other team ran the ball.

The quarterback dropped back like he was going to pass. The offensive line dropped back like they were pass blocking. The wide receivers ran their routes like normal. At first, it appeared as if the running back was staying in the backfield as an extra blocker. Then, he slid up next to the quarterback, grabbed the ball, and ran through a hole in the offensive line. There was plenty of room in front and Plex wondered if anyone would be able to stop the running back before he got to the end zone.

The first game is nearly over… the final whistle is drawing closer. Will Plex’s team end up victorious? Will his sister’s team come out on top? Will that pesky dragon decide to interfere again? These answers can be found by reading on… in this, the sixteenth, installment of the Fantasy Football series written by Revis and me.

…..

The ball spun in slow motion. The arms of the defender and offensive linesman scrambled to grab ahold of it before it reached the ground. Their hands knocked against each other and the ball. It bounced upward, Plex couldn’t see what had caused it to pop up, and it spun even more wildly than before. The two players tried to reach for the ball again but weren’t in good positions and kept getting in each other’s way.

Then Kalant appeared seemingly from nowhere and plucked the ball from the air. Plex couldn’t…

Plex kept shaking his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. His mind remained clouded. It felt as if he had drank an entire barrel of ale. The drunken feeling wasn’t the worst of it, though. It also felt like he was suffering the hangover of such a drinking binge. He had felt both of those things separately, but this was the first time he had ever felt them both together.

Was he the first person to ever feel them both at the same time? It seemed like those two things would be impossible to feel at the same time. After all, drunkenness and hungover would not happen to one person all at once. Those two particular feelings generally didn’t happen to one person on the same day, let alone at the same time.

A wave of warmth washed over him as he wondered why those strange thoughts were bouncing around in his mind. Plex’s vision cleared. In front of him was the team healer. Or, at least, he assumed it was. While he could see better than he had been able to, he still was fuzzy. On top of that, there was still something that dominated his vision.
No matter the fuzziness, no matter the pain in his head, the only thing he saw were the eyes of Lavalandinarial.

The dragon’s eyes burned through him like the fiery breath of the great beast would. Plex shivered. He wanted nothing to do with Lavalandinarial, but he suspected that his condition was the dragon’s doing. He wasn’t sure how the dragon could have done it. Plex wasn’t that knowledgeable about magic and assumed that was likely what he had been hit with. There was no way he fell like that on his own.

Another wave of warmth flowed over him. His vision cleared a little more, but he was struck by a powerful lightheadedness. Plex felt himself falling backwards. Strong hands caught him and gently placed him on the ground. He found himself looking straight up in the air. Still, he saw nothing besides Lavalandinarial’s eyes. Suddenly, the rest of the dragon’s face appeared before him. Her mouth curled into a sneer just before all of the bad feelings left his head as if they were never there.

Plex opened his eyes and was greeted by the worried face of Coach Sprout. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know, Coach,” he answered honestly. “Everything went crazy there for a moment.”

Coach Sprout’s eyes flicked to the dragon before returning to Plex. “Are you okay now?”

“I think so.”

“Good. We’re going to need you.”

Plex looked up at the scoreboard and saw that it hadn’t changed. It still said that his team was winning thirty-five to thirty-three. He remembered a touchdown being scored. He heard the crowd cheering afterward. Had that just been in his head? And how did the other team get the ball?

Gilania’s team had the ball at midfield and was steadily moving it. Kalant was on the field, harassing the quarterback and making sure they didn’t have time to pick out receivers far down field but they were picking up enough yards everything three downs to get the first and continue to move the chains. Plex was glad to see that the dwarf had found a role he could thrive in. However, on their current drive, Plex didn’t see how they were stoppable. Soon enough they would have another six points on the board and gain the lead.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady his mind and calm his nerves. Though everything seemed to be back to normal he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been very wrong just moments before. He had not been in control of his mind or body and that was deeply unsettling.

When he opened his eyes again he tried to see the field anew. He studied the way the offense was setting up to try and find a weakness that could be exploited. While he watched, Gilania’s team moved the ball another twenty yards with a series of small gain, quickly churned, running plays. They were in field goal range now so now was the time to stop them, at least, or get a turnover if they could.

“What?” The gnome looked up nervously. His gaze only strayed for a moment before returning to the field.

“We could set up like we think they are going to pass, they will likely try to run the ball instead, and then we have our whole line rush in to either clog the running lanes or sack the quarterback. If we are lucky, we can get a fumble and recover it.”

“If we aren’t lucky, the quarterback will get a pass off downfield to any of the wide open receivers and they’ll get a touchdown.”

“If we don’t try something off script, they are going to get a touchdown anyway.”

Coach Sprout glanced up to Plex again but this time held the elf’s gaze. “Worth the risk,” he said and then went to confer with one of his assistant coaches.

Plex didn’t bother trying to eavesdrop. Whatever they did to draw up the play, they would have to get it out to the team quickly to disrupt the current run. Gilania’s team was still advancing down the field and all the while the time clock was running lower and lower. From what Plex could remember, this was the longest position either team had managed all game.

At the next available down, a second down after having picked up three yards on the first play, a likely enough situation for a pass, the defensive line shuffled out and extra back field players came on. This was it. Coach Sprout was using his idea now.

The offense saw the change and to Plex it sounded like they were calling for a change to the play they were going to run. He hoped that meant they were going to try to run the ball only and hadn’t suspected the attack they were about to receive.

One of the new defenders bent down and whispered something in Kalant’s ear. Whatever was said made the dwarf go red. Plex could tell the dwarf was angry at what he was told. He wondered what it could be. Kalant was still in the game, so it couldn’t be that he was angry at being taken out.

There was no further time to ponder it as the opposing quarterback had shuffled his players into the formation that he wanted and was set to receive the snap. After barking out his cadence, the ball came into his hand. He turned to hand the ball off to his running back, but he couldn’t. The running back had already been hit by the new defender that had spoken to Kalant.

The quarterback twisted away from them and was immediately face to face with another defender. To his credit, the quarterback maintained his composure and sidestepped the tackle attempt. It only bought him a moment of freedom as he was about to get hit by another blitzer. Plex watched in surprise as the quarterback threw the ball just as he was hit hard by one of Plex’s teammates.

As soon as the ball left the quarterback’s hand, Plex wondered who it was going to. None of the receivers had run routes. They had started blocking as soon as the ball was hiked. Plus, it was in the middle of the field, and the receivers were on the outside. Then, it hit him and he wanted to smack himself for missing something so obvious.

The ball was going to the tight end.

Lined up next to the offensive line, the tight end had also been blocking, but he was still able to catch a pass. Except for the cornerbacks, who were lined up outside with the receivers, it looked like the rest of his team’s defense had run past the tight end. If they caught it, the play would result in a touchdown. Plex cursed, knowing his plan might have just cost his team the game.

The ball floated in the air for a second before falling back down to the ground. Something was coming streaking in from the secondary at the tight end. It was Kalant. He had dropped into coverage instead of rushing the quarterback. Plex chuckled as he finally understood why the dwarf had been angry before the play started. Kalant hated dropping back into coverage.

Both Kalant and the ball arrived at the exact same time. The tight end, an ogre, was a foot taller than the dwarf and probably outweighed him by quite a bit, but Kalant was almost nothing but muscle and was moving at full speed. Kalant lowered his shoulder and drove it directly into the small of the ogre’s back. The hit knocked the tight end forward and the ball jumped up off of his fingers.

The entire arena watched as the ball fell down in slow motion. It was in the middle of one of the offensive linemen and a blitzing defender that had turned around in time to see the hit. Both of them had a chance for it. They lunged for the ball as Plex tried to will his player into catching it.